As an organisation, we don’t shy away from issues; we’re not passive supporters. Every day, we go out of our comfort zones to challenge ourselves, and others, on the systematic prejudices that exist and how we move forward. We believe that if you don’t stand firmly against discrimination, you are part of the problem.

Like us, our member organisations live and breathe EDI and go way beyond statutory requirements to push out historical boundaries and systematic barriers for our staff, students, pupils and apprentices. While each member champions their own approach to EDI, we come from a unified stance on our values and inclusivity, and the commonality is that we never stop trying to learn and improve.

Together, we have the pace and power to mobilise communities and make the world a bit better.

We value difference and we recognise that we need a diverse range of perspectives, experiences and personalities to innovate, deliver better outputs, and maximise the potential of our students and communities.

We want to improve the diversity of our staff to better reflect our students, and we actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups. We embed inclusion into our practices when recruiting staff, and in all our dealings with stakeholders.

We create academic and social opportunities for every child, young person and adult, and value the diversity of their ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, disability, religion and social background. We actively welcome stateless young people and adults, refugees and asylum seekers, and people living in poverty.

We choose to work with people who share our values, who treat others fairly, and with respect and dignity. Consciously and subconsciously, this weaves into how our pupils, students, apprentices and staff behave with others and positively influence their communities.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are integrated into our learning schemes and experiences, curriculum planning, and delivering teaching, learning and assessment.

We are actively decolonising curriculums and reconstructing them to better reflect and celebrate our Luminate communities.

Our vision is to create learning environments where everyone feels valued, safe and can fulfil their potential. Where they can use their voice authentically. To achieve this, we hold ourselves accountable to high standards of behaviour and we seek to amplify the voices of those marginalised in society.

We have a board, groupwide EDI committee and EDI policy governed by the Equality Act 2010, that direct us to achieve our vision safely, consistently, and in accordance with the law. It must be followed by all our members, visitors and sub-contractors.

We have over 60 equality champions within the group and provide every opportunity for our people to become active allies of underrepresented groups. There are staff forums dedicated to race equality, disability and neurodiversity, LGBT+ and working carers.

There is no neutral space when it comes to discrimination at Luminate Education Group. While we always look for the learning opportunity rather than a punitive one, we do not tolerate individual’s beliefs and values being manifested in a way that intimidates, humiliates or creates a hostile or degrading learning or working environment.

We actively challenge behaviour which is inconsistent with our values.

We promote positive experiences and relational warmth as a key feature in our organisations, and draw on practice informed by restorative approaches, to improve emotional wellbeing and mental health.

This promotes a culture of mutual respect and ensures the voices of both our people and students are captured and listened to in any decision-making process. We are not a rigid workforce in any sense; our starting point is always ‘why’, with a goal of learning and personal growth from negative situations.

We seek to work with ethical and sustainable organisations, and develop relationships with diverse and local businesses, to invest in community economic growth and wellbeing. Our procurement processes and employer engagement expect a strong values base and commitment to EDI. We actively build relationships with voluntary organisations and charities and seek to give something back through social action.